The Blog of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference

Institute of Jazz Studies Archives Fellowship Program

The John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers University-Newark is home to the Institute of Jazz Studies (“IJS”), the world’s largest and most comprehensive jazz library and archives. With significant collections of monographs, periodicals, sound recordings, manuscripts, artifacts, photographs, and oral history interviews, continues to expand access to its collections and outreach programs employing the latest technology.

In 2012, IJS established the Jazz Archives Fellowship Program to support archival career development. With three archivists and other faculty and staff, the Institute of Jazz Studies is in a unique position to provide practical training in archival organization and processing within the multifaceted collections, as well as a number of seminar-type learning opportunities. Fellows will work closely with IJS and Dana archivists, librarians, and staff to gain an overview of the role of an archive within an urban university library on a campus noted for its diversity, and to learn practical archival skills while working with the Institute’s world renowned collections.

The program consists of a two-week residency at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers-Newark from June 12th to June 23rd, 2017. Major components include a general orientation, a visit to several New York metropolitan area music archives, discussions and learning opportunities about archival and digital collection management issues, and meetings with Rutgers faculty, staff and administrators about diversity and how it can be served by a specialized archive like IJS. In addition, Fellows will have the opportunity to explore the Institute’s unique holdings and to arrange and describe a representative collection under the supervision of IJS’s archivists. Fellows will develop a digital project stemming from their arrangement and description work.

FUNDING: Three fellowships are available, each supported by a $1400 stipend which is intended to cover travel, meals and incidentals. Lodging will be covered directly by the Institute of Jazz Studies. Funding is generously provided by longtime IJS supporter John Van Rens.

ELIGIBILITY: Candidates should be currently enrolled in or have recently graduated from an ALA-accredited master’s program in library and information science or an accredited master’s program in archival studies. Candidates should demonstrate an interest in jazz and/or African American history and a commitment to a career as an archivist. Candidates should be committed to contributing to the university’s goals of diversity and inclusion. Please see: http://diversityweb.rutgers.edu/mission.php

Candidates from under-represented ethnic minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.

TO APPLY: REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS AND INTERVIEWS WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY. The deadline to apply for selection is February 15, 2017. All applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by March 15, 2017. SUBMIT RESUME, COVER LETTER that addresses candidate’s interest in jazz as well as commitment to an archival career, and NAMES OF THREE REFERENCES to: Barbara Weldon (Jazz Fellowship), Senior HR Manager, Rutgers University Libraries, 169 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1163, email: rulhr@rulmail.rutgers.edu, FAX: 732-932-7637

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, military service or any other category protected by law. As an institution, we value diversity of background and opinion, and prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of any legally protected class in the areas of hiring, recruitment, promotion, transfer, demotion, training, compensation, pay, fringe benefits, layoff, termination or any other terms and conditions of employment.

The Libraries are strongly and actively committed to diversity, and seek candidates who will contribute creatively to the University’s multicultural environment.

About MARAC

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) is a professional organization for archivists who live and work in the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and West Virginia, and in the District of Columbia.